Time4me -- Glad you're feeling a lot better and congratulations on being able to not give in to the treats. Any day that happens is a good day because it's just plain hard to do.

SilentArctic -- keep posting. There are times when we all struggle, but it's so hard when the struggle seems to be going on longer than it should. Posting here does seem to help me, so glad that you're making the effort to stay in touch.

Fiona -- you're rocking it! The low carb approach seems to really be working for you. You mentioned that you'd lost 50 pounds in 20 months but wanted to speed it up. Understand. But don't downplay that 50 pounds. It may have been a slower pace, but it's a whole lot better than saying you gained 50 pounds in 2 years. I'm doing the Halloween thing, but the leftovers will be put in the freezer in the basement (I hate going to the basement) and will be there for when the grands are here and they want a little treat without it going overboard.

Ubee -- 20% in one year. WOW!!!!! And good for you on recommitting to another year.

Kawaii -- Welcome and what a dramatic story you've got. I totally understand both the having trouble relating to people who are trying to only lose 10-20 pounds -- although I try to understand that to them 10-20 pounds might feel the same as losing a lot is to us. And, I also understand the emotional side of what you're going through. With your dramatic weight loss and eating so differently, some of this may just be your brain not getting all the pleasure chemicals it used to. As your eating patterns adjust, hopefully you'll find yourself feeling more positive. Having such a good support system hopefully helps.

I'm skipping the gym today because I'm going to try to get the remainder of the 23 evergreens I bought put in the ground today as it's supposed to start raining tomorrow. I'm in the NW, and we're heading towards rainy season. I want to get the hanging planters and wind chimes taken down, and the geraniums potted for wintering over. If there's another couple of non-rain days in the next week or so, the garden leavings will get cleaned out and some tree trimming done and just general yard clean up. I let too much time slip by, and now I'm trying to get a lot done in a little time.

Jane, I missed you! Thank you for stopping by. Sorry about the stones. Not a fun thing. I drink a ton of lemon water hoping to keep the ones I have from growing and to not allow any more to join them. The good thing is once they pass you feel so much better. Hang in there. "This too shall pass."
Betsy, where do you get all that energy from??? Seriously you must love all that work. I so am condo material! Will Toby be helping you?

__________________
1st time around lost down to 248. Hunger and cravings came back with a vengeance.
Restart Dec. 2016 at 315, now doing Intermittent Fasting.

Ubee- Since the calorie intake is so low it isn't advised to exercise at first on IP. They said your body needs to adjust to the diet first and then you can incorporate low intensity such as walking or something just as light. I'm not a person that likes to exercise. I feel better after it's done but I hate it when I start.

Wowsome exciting energy here! Kawaii, your story is amazing: good for you to be committing now to the next phase of the journey. So sorry to hear about your stones, Jane: my thoughts are with you. Betsy, I agree with Ubee: you're really a hard worker! I'm trying to get inspired just to get out the door and walk, but I am doing non-weight-bearing leg exercises every day, and today I added a bit of upper arm action. I so love being stronger...

So everyone is dressed up at my work and it makes me sad. I love Halloween and dressing up but I haven't in so long because I feel like I wouldn't look good in anything. I'm 26 years old and I'm not getting any younger! lolol. But next Halloween will be mine, so I better start looking now for something creative.

There are just so many things I don't allow myself to enjoy because of my weight. I can't wait for that not to be the issue.

I'm thinking about purchasing the Walk Away The Pounds dvds because I'm not supposed to do anything intense like my Turbo Fire dvds right now. I get home too late to walk around outside so hopefully this will be a good alternative.

The earthquake felt around the world yesterday was me falling off the wagon ... Once I started I would not stop. I haven't figured it out yet. It was a sad day, I didn't take my cinnamon for blood sugar spikes...sigh whatever. I am usually not so disappointed the next day but, I was doing so well and I ate a lot of calories. I ate a whole tin of nuts and it went south from there. I am back on today. I just want a vacation from all these food issues. However, I will just keep at it for the rest of my days because my health is worth it. Thanks for your support.
Betsy, you are so right about Fiona giving herself credit for her 50 pounds in 20 months. We all want it now. I get it. It is so good we have eachother to remind us to be kind to ourselves.
Watchout, thanks for explaining the exercise. I am laughing now at the shock it must have been to my body when I started eating healthy. I also understand how you feel not wanting to do things at a high weight. I like to be a recluse most days. I have read good things about that walking video. Let us know if you get it and how you like it.
Fiona, good job with the exercises. I only walk and need to add more. I was wondering since you make collages, did you make a motivational one for your weightloss?
I'll be checking in today to help keep me on track.
How is everyone doing?

__________________
1st time around lost down to 248. Hunger and cravings came back with a vengeance.
Restart Dec. 2016 at 315, now doing Intermittent Fasting.

Ubee -- I'm sorry you fell off but good for you for making today better. When I fall off I'll fall off for days. It's so hard to nip it in the bud. We're human and unfortunately we don't have a healthy relationship with food so we make mistakes. It's going to happen well into maintence, too. I think we just need to keep dusting ourselves off and keep going. You're doing great!

I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. I'm more than likely going to purchase it because I need to be doing something.

Good morning all. Hope that everyone is doing well -- and Jane, hope those stones have worked their way through your system without too much agony. All I ever hear about kidney stones is that it's equivalent to giving birth from a pain perspective. Yikes!

Ubee -- I hear you. I know what you mean about being so tired of thinking of what I should be eating, what's healthy, what's on plan. Do people ever get to the point where they don't think about the "other" food? It's not that I'm ever hungry when I eat on plan, I just miss my big three (chocolate, chips and ice cream in case I haven't mentioned them lately). We will have days and the fact that you are immediately back on track is great. I'm with Watchout in that I don't have a single day escape -- mine can go on for several days. Heck, one of them went on for a decade! I really do think mentally that we have to accept that these days will happen and start thinking of them as normal. What's abnormal is if we let it get out of control and don't make any effort to reign it in. That's my philosophical pandering for today. Tomorrow, I'll be thinking something else depending on how well I stay on plan today.

Watchout -- I'm so sorry you didn't dress up for Halloween at work. And, yes, I hope that next year you will own Halloween. In the meantime, don't deprive yourself these little pleasures in life. I understand having the feeling that you don't fit in wearing a costume, but probably no one else cares. And if they do, quite truthfully that is their problem.

Fiona -- Love reading your posts and like what you're looking at for exercise. Your creative side comes out in so many things you do and how you approach each day.

Yes, I have been putting in a lot of work this year and there are many days I think that I should have bought a condo instead of building this house on the side of a mountain. But, then I look out at the view and I know that I'm living in paradise. The yard work has built up over the last few years. My sister passed away 5 years ago next March (she lived across the street from me after 30 years of living 3000 miles apart), and it took me a long time to recover. I just sort of let everything in the yard slide until I finally realized that I needed to get with the program. So, I've been working on getting everything whipped back into shape and want to get to the point where things are at a maintenance level (cut the grass, do the weeding/pruning, deadhead, etc.) on a once a week basis instead of these seemingly endless projects. I figure one more summer ought to have everything whipped into shape -- including maintenance on the house that I want to do.

And, yes, Toby was a huge help. He brought me every stick in the yard, dug a couple of new holes in one of the planting areas, scampered all over the yard, and rolled in the grass to scratch his back numerous times. Right now he's scared to death of steps -- have no idea why. I finally got him to go up the steps from the basement, but had to basically drag him down them one at a time. Housebreaking is about as successful as my dieting right now (hit and miss!) and the teething is a pain for both of us. But, he's adorable, I love having an animal in the house again, and he will outgrow all the puppy stuff in a year or two or three.

OK. Need to get it in gear. It's raining here today so inside work. With a dog in the house, the floors are going to need a lot more attention.......